Hunting Safety is No Accident

Many of you might have already seen this story this week, but I’m re-posting it here in case you haven’t. It is very sad and troubling. There’s really not much more to say other than send this to all of your deer hunting friends.

If this tragedy helps save one life in the future, it will obviously be worth it. My thoughts and prayers go out to the families affected in this incident.

Courtesy of the Burlington Free Press:

READSBORO — A distraught hunter took his own life after accidentally shooting and killing a companion Saturday.

The deaths occurred shortly after noon in the woods off Howe Pond Road, Vermont State Police Detective Sgt. Albert Abdelnour said. When troopers arrived, they found Benjamin Birch, 39, and Timothy Bolognani, 49, both of Readsboro, dead from apparent gunshot wounds.

Police said Birch, Bolognani and a third man were hunting Saturday morning when Birch shot a deer. While the men were tracking it, Bolognani fired and heard Birch shout out. Bolognani found Birch shot and lying on the ground. Birch later died.

Police said Bolognani used his rifle to take his own life. There’s no evidence of foul play.

The deaths were the second tragedy in two years in the Bolognani family. Timothy Bolognani’s daughter, Jessica, 18, died in January 2010 in a snowmobiling accident in Readsboro. The young woman fell from a snowmobile and was struck by a second snowmobile.